Daine and Numair: Parenthood
by Stories-have-souls
Summary: Daine and Numair begin the struggles and blessings of parenthood.
1. Revelation

Daine stroked the opal's surface lovingly, the surface so smooth that she could see her face in it perfectly. A moment later, a soft chirp sounded, and the opal blazed with a bright, green fire. She looked up and smiled at Kitten, her dragonet companion of eight years. The young immortal motioned with a pointed muzzle at Daine's belly, and the woman reached forward to scratch the dragonet under her scaled chin. _You're so clever, you knew even before I knew_, she thought.

"Don't worry, Kit. We'll tell him as soon as he comes home. I just wonder when he'll be back…I've never known centaurs to be so unreasonable."

Kitten chirped again, the black opal of Daine's wedding ring repeating its display. The dragonet never tired of this game, and her friend often wondered, even worried, about the future, when the young immortal would learn stronger, more powerful magic.

Daine sighed, and lay back, resting against the heap of pillows on her bed. These last days she had felt dreadfully tired; another sign of what was to come.

Something fluttered hastily at the open window of the tower that was the Salmalin bedroom. Daine turned to greet a coal black raven that had settled on the stone sill.

Stork-man is back, it chattered excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other. All the ravens that nested on the roofs of Daine and Numair's home were acquainted with their hosts, but Goddess knew how they had picked up Numair's rather undignified nickname.

_Probably from Cloud_, Daine confided to herself, but her mind was already attending a different matter: Numair was home, and it was time to tell him what she'd been waiting to tell for a fortnight.

"He's back, Kit!" She exclaimed, springing with renewed energy from the bed. She hung out of the window to look down, her eyes seeking to confirm the raven's report. The raven itself flew off, cawing a goodbye.

Sure enough, on the thin, cobblestone lane below, marching wearily towards the iron gates of the Salmalin home were Numair atop his faithful steed, Spots. Containing an incensed herd of centaurs that'd been experiencing feuds with a nearby human settlement must have drained him of both physical and magical strength. Daine would've gone too, except that when King Jonathon had sent summons to the Salmalins requesting for aid concerning the centaurs, Numair had noticed his wife's unusual fatigue, and convinced her to stay and rest.

As if feeling her gaze on him, Numair craned his neck abruptly, and sighted Daine leaning from the tower window. Immediately his drawn face lifted, and he beamed a warm smile. Spending precious magic, he sent a phantom hand upwards to stroke Daine's soft cheek and whisper, "It's wonderful to see you again, my love."

In fact, he looked as if he wanted to shift to hawk shape and fly up to greet her, but his lack of energy prevented it.

"I'd better get back to bed, else he'll accuse me of pretence." Daine joked to Kitten, slipping beneath the covers of the four poster bed. Her heart began to pound, and not for the first time, a quivering hand slid to her belly. How would he react? Would he be proud and joyous, knowing that he was soon to be a father? Or would he be disappointed, concerned that a child would tether him down?

Ten minutes later, loud, hurried steps could be heard, as Numair tackled the stairwell. The door burst open as he swept in, still wearing his soiled travelling garments. Kitten trotted forward, expecting a customary scratch under her chin, but the mage brushed past without acknowledgement. The young immortal voiced her dismay in a number of rude noises.

"Daine…I've missed you so much. How are you feeling?" He joined his twenty-two year old wife on the bed, wrestling his cloak off.

"I…I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you. You look awful." She replied, removing a hand from the coverings to caress her husband's stubbly chin. He frowned.

"You certainly don't sound fine. What's wrong? You were tired when I left…" He reached for Daine's arm, checking her pulse. When he found it to be unusually fast, he laid a hand across her forehead. "You're not sick, are you?"

By this time, Kitten had scrambled up the bed's covers, and now she pointed an accusing, silver clawed paw at the bump beneath the cloth that was the woman's belly. She issued erratic chirps, staring at Numair.

"Kit!" Daine had wanted to tell him, but as he had returned her courage had faltered. Now, the dragonet would give her away. Numair opened his mouth to say something, but as realisation dawned on him, he froze. His eyes widening, he exchanged looks with his wife.

"You-re…I'm…we have a child?" He finally croaked. Daine attempted a smile. "Yes. I found out five days ago. You're not disappointed?"

The mage's features softened, and his frown became a grin. "Of course I'm not! Daine…this is amazing." He placed a hand where her belly was, and a sudden, joyful laugh escaped from his mouth.

"It might have been the night after the Midsummer celebrations."

Numair nodded, lost in thought. Who knew what words scurried and rushed through his mind at this time?

"You're shaking, Daine." He had returned to reality, to clasp one of his wife's pale hands in his own. Concern settled around his face, and it appeared that it would stay there for the duration of the pregnancy.

"I-I'm scared, Numair!" She lunged forward and buried her head in the mage's chest. Sobs, gentle but powerful in their fear, shuddered through her body. Numair closed his warm arms tight around her, placing his chin on her head.

"Shhhh…everything will be fine. This is a wonderful thing, Daine, I promise you."

The couple stayed there, one quietly sobbing in fatigue and hopelessness, the other clasping them in a tight, protective clutch.

In the Divine Realms, a world apart from that of Tortall's, a god and goddess stared at a bowl filled with shimmering water. Their eyes were wide and intent, filled with an emotion that the name 'pride' did not do justice for.

"Our daughter…so grown, yet still a child." Weiryn murmured, the water beneath him a window that revealed Daine and Numair, still embraced.

"I'll be there for her." Sarra whispered in return.

"What?"

"When the child comes. I'll come as the Green Lady. I could only be with her for the first thirteen years of her life, and when it's her time, she'll need me."

"Of course she will, Sarra darling." Weiryn kissed his wife tenderly, and they huddled close as the image of their daughter and her husband faded from the water.


	2. Badger's Reassurance

I'd like to thank my current two reviewers:

AnimalWriter1

punkpixie87

You guys made my day!

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Daine waited another week before she could summon enough courage to reveal her pregnancy to the rest of Tortall. Numair had been given strict orders not to tell anyone, and he reluctantly complied. Kitten was a problem; Alanna, Tortall's lady knight, had visited the Salmalin home soon after Numair's own return, to see how the mage was recovering, and to report on the successfulness of his mission. Daine, already beginning to don herself in baggy gowns out of cautiousness rather than need, had been talking to her friend when Kitten arrived and proceeded to behave exactly as she'd done when in Numair's presence. Daine was forced to bundle her out of the room, explaining to Alanna that she'd eaten something she'd ought not to that morning, all the while muttering under her breath, "Where's the Graveyard Hag when you need her?"

Now, she stood outside the door to King Jonathan's study, preening her dress down to satisfy her fiddling hands.

She'd asked both the King and Queen earlier whether they would have spare time on their hands at noon. Once either of them opened the door to the study, she would have to swallow her fears and bring her secret out into the open.

"Goddess, I don't know why this is so difficult…" She murmured quietly. The tension of having to wait to be seen added to her mountain of emotion.

Suddenly, a white mist spilled out from thin air before the woman. It billowed up, and then cleared. From its receding depths waddled a familiar friend, his eyes livelier than they'd been in years.

"Badger!" Daine almost yelled, kneeling to greet the god that had been her spiritual guide since she was thirteen.

-Hello again, Kit.- He replied indifferently, as if they'd met yesterday.

"Why are you here? There's nothing wrong with Ma, is there?"

-What do you think my being here is owed to?- The badger god said, with his age long tone of 'work it out for yourself, you idle person'.

"You-you know?" She glanced down at her belly.

-My dear Kit, practically all of the Divine Realms know, even the dragons…though they didn't have much to say about it, naturally. Broadfoot sends his congratulations, as do Weiryn and Sarra.-

"That's fair good to hear." She reached for Badger's silver claw around her neck, its weight and coldness a comfort. The badger god himself swung his head towards the door.

-I'd best be off,- The mist began to collect around his form again. -Don't be afraid, Daine. You've nothing to be ashamed of.-

And with that, the badger god was gone. When Queen Thayet opened the study door, the last few wisps of magic had faded away.

"Daine-a pleasure to see you again. What do you require of my husband and I?" She asked in her gentle, dignified tone.

"Well, it's rather important…" The wild mage shuffled on her feet awkwardly.

"Not to worry. Do come in."

The two women drifted into the study. King Jonathan of Tortall sat in his chair at the end of the room, his smile welcoming as always. He indicated to an empty seat in front of his desk, and this Daine took shakily.

"Now, Mrs Salmalin," The King addressed her formally as he had done so since Numair and Daine's wedding four years ago, and most people had now assumed that this way of address was partly for his own amusement. "Let's hear what you have to say."

Daine took a deep breath, tossing her gaze between the two monarchs. Thayet stood beside her chair, her hand clasped on its wooden shoulder.

"Well, it concerns me and Numair…"

"Nothing wrong, is there?"

"No, not at all. The thing is…"

"Go on." Thayet said softly as Daine faltered.

"…I'm expecting." She finally blurted out, the heat flowing to her face. For a moment or two, silence hung in the air like a suffocating sheet of ice, but it was soon burnt away by the ever growing smiles of both Thayet and Jonathan.

"I wondered when the first Salmalin child would be," Said the King quite simply. Thayet moved her hand to Daine's shoulder, and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to tell us," She began. "You needn't be afraid. How old is the child now?"

"Six weeks, I believe." Now that she had proven herself, Daine found it easier to talk about the unborn child that grew within her.

"I'll have letters sent out this afternoon. To Alanna, Onua-"

"Hang on!" Daine cried, instantly grimacing when she realised that she'd cut off the King. "Apologies, sire. But, why must everyone know?"

"Mrs Salmalin, you and Numair are Tortall, and all its nations' most renowned mages. Your children are eagerly awaited and welcomed." Jonathan began to arrange papers on his desk, pulling a quill and accompanying bottle of ink towards him.

"Show our expecting mother out, Thayet dear." He issued the final, calm parting, and immediately turned his attention to the writing of letters bearing Daine and Numair's wonderful news.

Thayet dully led Daine from the study, embracing her tightly outside.

"I'm so happy for you, Daine." She said, as they broke away. "To think when I first met you when you were talking to those ponies of yours, all those years ago."

The soon-to-be mother nodded.

"You look the very depiction of fear. Mind, I was the same when Prince Roald came."

Daine remained as a rabbit would when facing a hungry wolf.

"Daine…you are peculiar, sometimes. This child is a gift, my dear. Soon you'll thank the gods each day for it," Thayet tutted in a teasing way.

"But I don't know anything! I don't know how to care for myself while I'm pregnant, I don't know what to do for when the child comes-" Daine finally spoke, more fears tumbling from her mouth.

"I realise you're worried. But you have months to learn, and learning it all won't be near as hard as learning how to use your wild magic when you were thirteen was."

"But this is _different_." She complained.

"It isn't. The only difference is that you can be prepared for this-you know all about it. You'll be a fantastic mother, Daine, I know it. If you use the same love and care as you do for Numair and all your animals, then that child couldn't be in safer hands."


	3. Summons

Again, thanks to my first ever reviewers :D

In answer to one of my reviewers: I know the chapters are short, but I'm used to people being dissuaded by long chapters, and plus I post quite regularly anyway :)

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To both Daine and Numair, the prospect of children during their marriage was an unspoken but seemingly inevitable thing. Four years ago, when they were wed, Numair had thought of children much more than his young bride. Though he fantasised being a father, he knew that Daine was still barely an adult, and convinced her to use a pregnancy charm for a good three years, with little resistance. When Daine was twenty one, on Midsummer's Day, they had watched the children of Tortall staging an amateur play for the royal court, and it was that day that she came to a decision, and told Numair that she was ready.

And so, a year almost precise to the day, Numair and Daine's child was conceived. Bewildered and surprised, they soon realised that the shared apprehension that followed in the days after Daine's (and Kitten's) revelation were owed to the mere fact that they now were parents, and that between them, they had created new life.

Seven weeks into her pregnancy, the symptoms began to take a steady hold of her. 'Morning sickness', as Alanna and Thayet had grimly told her, came unpredictably, forcing Daine to divulge her food. A more startling effect was that she found it near impossible to listen and to converse with her animal friends-even Cloud, her beloved pony.

One day, as the sun rose to bleed its crimson rays across Tortall's walls, Daine could be found sitting on a bale of straw, crushing stems plucked from it out of frustration. Close by, Cloud bowed her head in futileness. The Salmalin stable was empty, save for them.

You…, she attempted, but the words that followed were decayed and crackled as roasting meat would.

"Why? Why can't I hear them!" Daine cried. The rugged mountain pony could only answer with a regretful stare.

"I feel so…alone. I can't even call them."

The speech of self pity was interrupted by hasty footsteps from outside, and soon Numair appeared. A letter hung in his hand, his face weary with the prospect of yet another crusade.

"Daine-do you have a moment?" He smoothed down one side of unruly raven black hair as an exaggeration of his fatigue.

"Any distraction's worth a moment of my time." She replied, getting up from her seat. She rubbed Cloud on the muzzle, and swept past.

"It's another summons from Jonathan-more immortals trouble."

"What now? A rabid griffin?" Daine said cynically, aware that a common symptom of pregnancy included altered moods.

"Close," Numair grimaced. "Stormwings-we were sent word from the Stone Tree nation."

"Barzha?" Daine asked quickly, ears pricking up at the reference to an old friend.

Her husband nodded. "They need help. One of their own has gone-well, mad."

She raised an eyebrow.

"He was one of their best mages-perhaps stronger than any other Stormwing we've known-and somehow he was consumed by a spell. He's a tyrant. He's already burnt the forest where the Stone Tree's live, and two people are dead."

Both mages shared a foreboding expression. Many humans had been dismayed when, after the Immortal War, when Ozorne was finally defeated, some of the Stormwings remained in the mortal realm. Resented but left alone, the Stone Tree nation kept themselves to themselves, and the balanced of harmony between human and Stormwing was as taut as it had been all those years ago. If two people were dead because of a Stormwing…

"Can't they kill him themselves?"

"No. He's too strong. They need us." Daine processed this information in her brain. She knew what would come next: Numair would say that there'd be no need for her to come, that she needed to rest and take care of herself and the child.

"No, Daine, I know what you're thinking. I can't let you risk two lives on this mission." Numair drew an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I won't be at risk. With your Gift we'll be fine."

"Your wild magic isn't working properly. How do you know that you can still sense immortals?" Determination was firmly set in the mage's face.

"I don't know. But I don't want to stay here, lounging in bed all day! I'm miserable! I need a distraction."

"Daine, **listen** to me," Numair held her by the shoulders, tight but gentle. "If anything ever happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. Please, do me the favour of easing at least one of my worries."

The woman stared at him hard. "I make my own choices, Numair. You don't think that I am burdened with worry when you go to fight alone? We work better, we fight better, and we manage better, together. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Daine broke away from her husband's desperate grip, storming from the stables, across the courtyard and into the Salmalin quarters. Numair scanned the urgent letter again, and muttered an unrepeatable word as fears swept over him like ferocious waves that threatened to drown him at any moment.


	4. Ride

Hours later, a small party of mages and Rider scouts were assembling at the West gate that bridged into Tortall. Among them were Numair and Daine, an air of awkwardness between them following their brief argument. Cloud and Spots, their ponies, were laden with luggage for the journey, which would take three day's ride to Agrafief, the home of the Stone Tree nation, and the area blighted by the maddened Stormwing mage.

"You can still turn back, Daine." Numair muttered, edging his steed aside so that a young Rider could pass.

"You can too, but you won't." His wife replied, Cloud casting an icy look over at him.

"Please-" He began, but a commotion grew as the last member of their party arrived: Alanna. Clad in her travelling garments, as Daine and Numair were, she bore the expression of a person whose patience could only stretch so far.

She brushed away a Rider scout who attempted to address her, and rode up to the couple.

"You're sure about this, Daine?" She asked, exchanging a glance with Numair.

"I need to be here, Alanna. Besides, you'll need me to sense him."

The lady knight arched an eyebrow. "I doubt a mad Stormwing who is burning trees as we speak will be hard to find."

Daine sighed aggravatingly, and gave Cloud a light tap on her side with a boot. They moved away towards the front of the group, where she began to talk to her close Rider friend, Evin Larse.

"I tried to show her reason, but she was adamant." Numair moaned to the knight.

"She's strong headed. You can't tie her down."

"Too strong headed for her own good. If anything happens to her and the child-"

"Numair, don't think she's helpless just because she's expecting. She's still the best in Tortall with a bow."

"Is a bow any use against a mad mage?"

Alanna rolled her eyes. "You're here. You alone could kill the Stormwing; it's just that Jonathan hates to take risks."

At that moment, a Rider, his features lined with the experience of years, called out. He spurred his mount onwards, and the party followed. The air flooded with the sounds of hooves scuffing the dusty ground, the grunts of the ponies and horses, and the shifting of weaponry against their owner's sides.

A dust cloud followed the party as they rode from Tortall. Daine remained at the front, determined to pretend she wasn't scared that she'd made a bad decision.

"Hold still. I can't treat it otherwise." Numair was kneeled, dabbing the aqueous healing substance delicately on Daine's forearm. The wild mage had been inspecting her arrows for faults when one of the points had cut past her skin. Of course, Numair had swooped down on her in an instant ("I knew this was a mistake!"… "Think of the child!").

"You worry too much. It barely hurts." Daine hid her winces when the substance stung. Only the tenderness of her husband's touches soothed her.

"I worry for both of us, that's the problem-" The mage stopped when Daine brought a hand to her mouth, her chest heaving.

"Daine?" He asked worriedly, bringing his arm around her. A moment later, she gasped. Panting, she assured Numair, "I'm fine. Thayet warned me about it."

"Part of the pregnancy?"

"Yes. Great, isn't it?" She said sarcastically. Her husband placed the jar of the healing substance on the floor, and put a hand to her belly. He smiled, seeking the same pride that he felt, in Daine's eyes.

"I still can't believe it." He whispered, and leant in to nudge his wife's face with his nose.

"Neither can I." She returned the whisper, letting Numair's lips explore her face. Eventually they settled on her own ones, and they locked till the couple had to come up for air. Together, they lowered themselves onto the double bedspread within their tent. Numair blew the candles out, and returned his attention back to Daine.

The climate was still warm, and besides, they had each other to banish any cold that might try to creep upon them. As the moon tore through the frayed clouds with its white light, and the bats flitted through the air above the small, makeshift campsite, Daine and Numair drifted slowly into sleep, serenaded by the beating of each other's hearts, and the breaths that bathed their faces.

"I love you, Magelet." Numair whispered ever so quietly, watching his wife succumb to sleep.

Deep inside Daine's womb, their unborn child's heart beat in rhythm to its parents, and threads of both black and copper magic shivered across its frail, incomplete body. It continued to float through a state of impregnable sleep, till its time came.


	5. Stormwing Mage

Sorry it took so long! I was on a school Spanish trip. I made this chapter longer to make up for the delay. Unfortunately, though, I'll be going back to Spain tomorrow for two weeks, so the next chapter will take a while to come.

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Numair woke early that morning, his sleep having been the lair of nightmare demons. As his brain sluggishly began to restart, he stroked Daine's hair and kissed her on the forehead before rising from their bedspread to change. Clad in breeches and a tunic, he strolled out from the tent, startled by the unusual coldness of the morning.

"Well rested, Master Salmalin?" A voice called out, and Numair jerked his head to see Evin Larse crouched by a small, despondent fire. Despite the fire's frailty, the food that Evin was cooking over it smelled irresistible to the mage, and he trundled forward to sit beside the Rider.

"I prefer my own bed in Tortall." He attempted a weak smile.

"Hungry?"

"I was wondering when you would mention that…what is it?" Numair eyed the sizzling meat hungrily.

"Rabbit. I just caught it."

"Don't let Daine see you with that." Numair grinned, the curved line of his lips widening even more as Evin cut a strip of cooked meat off the spit and handed it to the ravenous mage.

Daine too had suffered from nightmares during her sleep. She panicked at first, when she saw that Numair was not beside her, but weary laughter from outside the tent reassured her.

Just as a smile crept onto her face, a horrid, sickly sensation came upon her, and all Evin and Numair saw of her was a blur of bare skin and nightgown, before she'd fled the campsite to vomit.

She knelt in the dewy grass, heaving up whatever she'd eaten the night before. Numair was quick to be there for her, Evin following behind, bringing a long cloak with him to cover her. Numair shot him a grateful look as he draped it over Daine's shoulders, and stepped back to give her air.

"Alanna mentioned something called morning sickness-is this it?" The mage rubbed his wife's back to ease her aches.

"Yes…" Daine finally managed to croak, wiping the bile from her mouth. She tried to hide her face away, repulsed herself.

"I don't care, Daine. All I care about it whether you're OK or not."

The wildmage recalled Badger's words: _-You've nothing to be ashamed of-_

"I-I'll just go back and rest a little longer." She stood up shakily, and Numair took hold of her arms to lend her support. He guided her back into the tent, and laid her down on the bedspread. Her head rolled to one side, and she groaned in discomfort.

"Can't…sleep…" She murmured. Numair placed a finger of her temple ever so gently, and summoned a thin waterfall of black magic that trickled into Daine. Her expression relaxed, and sleep blanketed her.

The mage crept from the tent, hoping that his wife would not suffer; if she was like this only nine weeks into pregnancy, how traumatic would the birthing be?

Daine woke two hours later, the tent surrounded by a cacophony of noise. Surprised at feeling so refreshed, she abandoned her bedspread and donned the travelling garments she had missed wearing since her last time outside Tortall. Her life was adventure, and she could not bear to be home-ridden.

"Daine?" Alanna called, as the wildmage emerged from the tent. The knight was strapping her sword to her belt while directing several disorientated Riders to where they should be.

"I-Goddess, I haven't kept everyone waiting, have I?"

"No, not to worry." In actual fact, the group had allowed another hour for their member to recuperate, but most of the Riders were grateful for the extra sleep.

At that point, Numair strode over, carrying the staff given to him years ago by Weiryn. "Daine…you're sure you're alright to carry on?"

"As best as I can be. I'll feel even better once I'm in a saddle." She replied, and glanced over to the edge of the campsite, where Cloud and the other ponies stood.

"I'll pack." He said abruptly, as Daine moved to return to the tent. Something between gratitude and annoyance slid across her face, but she nodded, and made for Cloud instead.

"I do worry about her." Numair sighed, seeking sympathy from Alanna, who rolled her eyes and wandered off.

Soon after Daine and awoken, the campsite had been dismantled, the fires buried under soil, and the mounts saddled. Their departure from the sheltered vales they had stopped for the night in was quiet and brisk. Their mission was of certain urgency: the kingdom could not afford even a minor war to occur between Stormwings and men.

As they rode, Daine tried as hard as she could to scrape a coherent conversation with Cloud, without revealing to Numair her efforts. Her husband was keeping his eyes on her without leniency, keeping their mounts as close together as possible. His trepidation was easily seen by his tendency to summon magic in his hands when so much as a hawk flew overhead, and it was distressing for Daine to see.

"Stop this, Numair. I can barely breathe in the space you're giving me." The wildmage finally shouted, as her husband leant in again. Cloud sided with her rider, snapping in the intention of closing down on a robed arm, but swallowing air instead.

"I'm looking out for you, Daine. You've no choice as to whether I want to protect you or not." Numair answered curtly, though he did widen the berth between them after that.

Forest-laden hills rose up from the boundaries of the trail that the Rider group traversed, the wind constantly breathing fresh life across the land. It was a swathe of green, but around midday, when the group had ridden for many miles, the area's beauty suddenly faded. Vibrant forest surrendered to burnt and blackened columns, dirty smoke clinging to the scarred ground. Death and destruction hung in the atmosphere like poisonous smog. The humans and their mounts stared around them in silent dread. The Stormwing mage was strong, and his wrath had travelled far.

It was Daine who suffered the most. The fact that she could not speak and listen to her animal friends did not prevent a thousand cries of pain flooding into her mind. She gripped Cloud's mane with white hands, her eyes clamped shut in an attempt to push away what she felt and heard.

"Daine?" Numair lurched over quickly, when he saw the wildmage's actions.

"They're all dying…I can't bear it." She muttered through clenched teeth.

"The animals? You can hear them?" Her husband demounted, and the group halted.

"Of course I can hear them! They're suffering!" Daine weakened at that moment, her muscles numbing. She slipped from her saddle, and Numair caught her in tense arms. The wind that howled despondently subsided to a low humming in her ears, and Numair's frightened face was the last image she saw before darkness smothered her.

When Daine awoke, tucked beneath a blanket in a tent, the pain that had caused her to faint was still there, though thankfully it had faded a little.

For a while, she stared at the tent roof. The Riders must have stopped the journey because of her. Certainly, the dull chatter of people outside the tent was distinct enough.

_I should never have come. Numair was right_, she said bitterly.

The cries of pain in her head spiked, and one voice rose above the others, stronger.

"You're close…" She whispered. She could still heal. She had repaired the broken wing of a raven last week.

"I'll find you." She pulled herself from out of her makeshift bed, ignoring the aches in her bones. Only her travelling garments, such as her robe, had been removed, and now she wrestled them back on. Remembering a promise she had made to herself nine years ago, she grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows. The Stormwing mage could be anywhere.

Cautiously, she crouched at the entrance of the tent and pulled the lip away just enough so that she could see whether an unnoticeable departure could be made.

Numair was nowhere to be seen, but she saw the back of Evin, and heard the voice of Alanna.

"It'll have to be the back." She murmured, sidling over to the other end of the tent. She tugged at the cloth, and created an opening large enough to slip out of.

The trembling voice within her mind grew stronger still, calling to her as she crawled into the blustery air. Once again, the sight of such barren land almost brought tears to her eyes. She shook her head, and crept away. Fortunately, the Rider group had camped close to a bank of bare, but abundant trees. She reached their cover quickly, looking behind to make sure that she had not been seen. No one, least of Numair, would want her to leave now. She had no choice though-a creature's life depended on her, and she could not ignore its suffering.

Daine began a half run, following the ever growing voice. A few glimmers of green-fortunate foliage-flashed in the corners of her vision, but everything else was dead.

It took fifteen minutes for her to reach her quarry, and by that time, she ached all over. She had a feeling that Numair had given her one of the usual messes he always carried with him, but even one of those did not last forever, particularly if the patient they had been used on refused to rest.

The creature who had called to her with its dying mind lay, prostate, on the ashy ground. Its broken wings were splayed out at different angles, and its once lively eyes were beginning to glaze.

"Hold on, eagle." Daine knelt beside the huge bird, stroking its ruffled feathers. She slipped a hand underneath its head for support, and the other hand went to one wing. Closing her eyes, she looked into herself, and sought the familiar well of copper fire that was her wild magic. She summoned strand upon strand of fiery thread, using them to burn away infection within the eagle's body. Once that was done, she focused on any internal bleeding. She found quite a quantity of it, amazed at the eagle's will to live. She bore down on the injuries, determined not to lose her patient.

Suddenly, the eagle screeched with pain that could only mean death, and she broke from her trance. At first, she was terrified that her own actions had brought the outburst about, but when she looked onto the eagle's smoking body, and a vile odour reached her nose, she knew who its murderer was.

Slowly, shakily, she turned to the sky. Amidst the innocent blue was a monster that scarred it. With steel wings that the sunlight tilted from, it hovered there, grinning maliciously.

_So much like Ozorne_, Daine thought, staring upwards with rigid fear. She was tired and helpless, pitted against a mad Stormwing that could destroy whole forests.

She finally found the ability to move, and edged backwards, to where her bow and arrows were.

"I thought I'd got rid of everything." The Stormwing now spoke, his words like the cold blade of a warrior's dagger. Daine ignored him, nocking an arrow. She had never been so afraid when facing a Stormwing, even more so than when she and Ozorne had faced each other for the last time.

But this time, more than one life hung in the balance. She could not afford any injury.

She brought her bow up swiftly, and loosed the arrow. It flew far and high, headed for its intended mark, but just before it reached the Stormwing's throat a barrier of live, green magic scorched it into nothing.

Crying in frustration, Daine sent another arrow forward to do what its brother could not; it too failed.

"Arrows, human?" The Stormwing cackled, and swept forward. More magic bloomed in his hands, and cascaded forward, reaching the wildmage long before their conjurer did. They wound themselves around Daine's wrists, burning her skin. The bow dropped from her frozen fingers.

"_NUMAIR!_" She screamed, as the Stormwing alighted on the carcass of the eagle, treading slowly towards her.


	6. Wolf Mother

**I'm so sorry for the gigantic gap between posting. I've got loads on my mind and most of you have probably forgotten about the story...oh well**

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Daine could barely move. More live, green magic was rooting her to the spot, and the Stormwing leered at her as he approached.

"Don't try to struggle, human, your bonds will tighten." Indeed, when the wildmage tried to move her wrist, a burning green rope curled itself tighter around her skin. She winced in pain.

"Let's see…you're the third human that's been foolish enough to get in my way."

Daine attempted to reason with him. She was known to the entire Stone Tree nation, and was considered an ally; perhaps she could retrieve the Stormwing's memories, if he had lost them.

"Please-my name is Daine Salmalin. I'm an ally of your queen, Barzha of the Stone Tree Nation." She pleaded. The Stormwing stopped in his tracks, digested her words, and shook his head.

"Veralidaine Sarrasri?" The wildmage said hopefully, her heart sinking. Obviously the mad Stormwing had lost his memory.

"Do not try my patience, human." Her attacker spat, and with that, sent a spear of magic towards her. She had no choice but to shape shift; and even then, it might not work. She had avoided shape shifting, worried that it could affect her unborn child. Now, it was a matter of life or death.

The Stormwing mage hesitated in confusion when he found himself facing a snarling wolf with blazing eyes. A distant memory flickered in his mind, but was soon snatched away as a fast flowing river would.

Daine would not risk fighting the Stormwing. Her change to wolf shape was only to save herself; she was ill equipped to face down a Stormwing, and a strong mage one at that.

"Daine!" A familiar voice called, fraught with worry and fear. She turned, her upper lip still curled in a snarl, and saw Numair run into the clearing. The Stormwing cried out when he saw the mage, and the staff before him. He thrust into the air, blowing waves of stench downwards.

"No you don't!" Numair shouted, black magic bursting from his staff. The magic sped after the Stormwing, encircling him, pulling him back down. He beat his steel wings in frustration, green magic beating against its black opponent in futility. With a final push, Numair forced his cage of magic further down, crushing the Stormwing to death. All trace of the Immortal was incinerated in a final burst of energy, and the dust left from it flew away on the wind.

"Daine?" The mage whispered gently to the bewildered wolf, slowly kneeling with open arms. The wildmage abandoned her snarl and padded cautiously towards him, wolf eyes blazing with a mixture of emotions.

"It's alright. You're safe. Be human again."

The wolf whined, but as it did so its silvery pelt melted into pink skin, its face returning to its true form.

"I was frightened…" Daine began, her voice quivering. Numair wrapped her in a tight hug, thanking the Gods that she was unharmed.

"Don't worry." He pulled his cloak off and handed it to his pale, shaking wife. Weariness hung around her like a heavy blanket, and she was grateful when Numair picked her up, intending to carry her back to the camp.

"You're light as a feather. I ought to feed you up." The mage said in a strained, joking voice. He had realised that his wife and child were more or less unscathed, but a husband's worry is a rock strong, permanent one.

Daine smiled weakly up at him, drifting in and out of consciousness. She was quiet during their journey, but in one of her lucid moments she said in an amused, giddy voice, "You were the father of a wolf pup just back there."

The party of Rider scouts and Alanna had been pleased to hear of the Stormwing mage's destruction, albeit concerned for Daine. Making amends between the Stone Tree Nation and the village that had lost two of its people would be a different matter.

"Here, this'll ease the aching a little." Alanna said, pressing her hand to Daine's belly. Threads of purple shimmered at the contact, absorbing into Daine. Immediately the pains the wildmage had been suffering lessened.

"Thanks."

"I was wondering-perhaps it would be best for you and a few of the scouts to stay here while we go on. You're exhausted." The knight stoked the frail fire before them, the embers weak with despondency.

"Certainly not!" Daine protested. "It'll be good to see the Stone Trees again. And I'm not entirely useless when it comes to settling arguments."

Alanna shrugged. "You have a knack for getting into trouble. Numair and I want you to solemnly swear that after this tirade, you'll start resting, and get on with preparing for the child."

"I've no choice anyway-Numair's already told me he's tying me to the bed after this." Daine grinned, her mood lighter than it had been for hours. Alanna smiled back and knew that the wildmage was for once going to take her pleas seriously.

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted. And I believe the scouts are ready to get going. Come on." The knight checked that her sword was sheathed, and helped Daine up from the ground. The two marched to the front of what had been their camp, their mounts already saddled for the journey. As Daine shifted onto Cloud, her body still aching slightly, Numair drew up alongside her. His own mount cringed inwardly, and the wildmage sensed it.

"I trust you had a certain discussion with Alanna?" He asked softly, though his expression was wary of an outburst provoked by his question.

"Yes." His wife replied curtly. "And you won't need to tie me to the bed." Numair laughed.

"Neither rope nor sorcery could stave your stubbornness." He said, just before Alanna shouted an order: they were on the move again.


	7. Stone Tree

**Pretty crap...I kind of let this sub-plot grow too much...oh well, I just wanted to upload it as soon possible as not to keep my kind reviewers waiting :)**

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The valley they traversed through eventually melted into wide, flat plains. The village that squatted in their midst could be seen for miles, and it was this place that the group headed for. To the east, a startling contrast against the overwhelming ash-grey of the land, was a small area of green forest that had escaped the Stormwing's burning.

"The Stone tree Nation's home." Daine said quietly to herself. She had never visited it before; the last time she'd seen her Stormwing friends had been on the battlefield of the Immortals war.

"What if our alliance has rusted too much?" The wildmage confided in Cloud.

Those Stormwings will be forever grateful for what you did for them, even if they still stink, the pony replied. Her rider nodded and peered ahead.

Before long the group reached the village. The first of the villagers to notice their arrival were the guards (most probably retired farmers), adorned in old, ill fitting armour, posted at the gate towers. Shortly before the Immortals war, a high palisade had been built around the village for protection. It remained to this day, unwelcoming and brooding.

The guards cried an order as the group reached the bolted gates, and the barricades were swung open to admit them into the village.

Before passing beneath the watch towers, Alanna fell back to Numair and Daine, exchanging brief words with them. Declining the offer of a scout or two to join them, the couple nodded and turned away from the gates. They spurred their mounts on and rode for the east, to the Stone tree Nation's home.

"Was it unwise for us to refuse reinforcement?" Numair shouted over the clattering of hooves on ash and dust.

"The Stone Trees prefer us over any other humans." Daine replied.

The distance between the village and the forest was short and, sensing a dirty humming in her mind, the wildmage peered into the trees to see a glint of sunlight as it bounced off steel feather.

"Slow down." Daine murmured to Numair. "They have sentries." The mage nodded, and watched as his wife dismounted. Opening her arms to show that she was unarmed, she paced forward to beneath the canopy of lustrous green.

"It's Veralidaine Sarrasri, your ally. I mean no harm." The branches above rustled, and a familiar stench reached her nostrils. As she fought to ignore it, a male Stormwing descended cautiously to the ground before her. She recognised him almost immediately.

"Hebakh. It's been a long time."

"You too." He said in a bland tone that betrayed neither resentment nor fondness.

"The Stormwing mage is dead. Numair killed him." Hebakh sighed.

"He used to be a good friend…but I suppose he had to die."

"'I suppose he had to die'?" Numair too had dismounted, striding up to Daine's side. "He nearly killed Daine and the baby."

Hebakh looked at the wildmage sharply. "You're with child?"

Daine blushed. "Yes."

The Stormwing muttered something that might have been a congratulations.

"Hebakh? The others told me-" A familiar voice called, and stopped. Queen Barzha of the Stone Tree nation alighted beside her consort, smiling; an unnerving sight to a human.

"Daine…I wondered how long it would take for our mage to make you come." She said calmly, steel feathers slitting and clicking back into place.

Numair looked impatient to push aside the welcoming niceties and to do what they were sent to do. He did not bother to tell the Stormwing queen of Daine's condition; Hebakh could do that later.

"It's good to see you and your consort again, Queen Barzha, but there are pressing issues at hand." The queen stared at him expectantly. "We have killed the Stormwing mage, but the matter of friction between your nation and the neighbouring village has yet to be resolved."

"He's dead? Good. One less reason for the villagers to persecute us…"

"We're going to try and smooth this feud out, Barzha. I won't let more blood be spilt." Daine said quickly, her face determined. She beckoned Numair back to their mounts.

"You'll follow us to the village?" The mage asked. The two Stormwings glanced between themselves.

"You won't be hurt." He added. Barzha nodded to her consort, and they rose into the sky. The two humans shielded their eyes from the glare of reflected sunlight, and pressed their mounts onward. They did not speak during the return to the village. Both of them were pasty faced, and brooded over their thoughts silently.

Two scouts were standing at the yawning gates when the couple arrived, with two glimmering figures aloft in the sky above.

"Glad you're back, Master Salmalin. Lady Alanna's been getting pretty red trying to settle the villagers." One of the Riders said as they halted their mounts. Numair grimaced. Daine looked up at the sky, beckoning the Immortals down. They obeyed, and alighted a little away from the gate. The scouts displayed obvious apprehension and repulsion at the new arrivals, but a commanding glare from Numair kept them silent.

"What now? Are we to wait out here for the villagers?"

Before one of the scouts could answer a thick rabble of voices came to them suddenly. Daine strode through the gates and across a wide open square to see a group of villagers pouring out of the village meeting hall, Alanna the Lioness following, wringing her wrist in frustration. Daine stifled a laugh; the Lioness was to be reckoned with when anger got the better of her, but it made the sight no less humorous.

"They've abused our tolerance!" One villager, an old farmer by the looks of it, cried to all who could hear.

"They never had the right to live on our land anyway!"

"Cursed monsters…"

Alanna caught sight of Daine, and sighed heavily.

"Thank the Goddess you're back. They're giving me nothing but grief and ignorance."

"We brought Barzha and Hebakh." Daine murmured to her as they reached each other. Alanna raised her eyebrows.

"I know I mentioned if possibly you could bring them but…" She trailed off and eyed the villagers, now ranting at a couple of startled scouts.

"We've got to try." Daine replied determinedly. She turned to the villagers and shouted out, "Excuse me!"

One by one the villagers quietened. By now Numair had grown tired of waiting by the gate and was walking to join his wife.

"You didn't listen to a knight of Tortall, so maybe you won't listen to a wildmage." A buzz swept through the gathering. Stories of wildmages were rich and plenty since the Immortals war, especially when concerning a certain brown haired, blue eyed girl with a black robe mage at her side.

"This…accident wasn't the Stone Tree's fault. It could've happened to a human. When the Immortals war ended we prayed for peace, and we're only going to get that peace if we learn to settle our differences. Can you or can you not leave the Stone Tree nation alone? They'll do the same for you."

Silence reigned only a few more moments, as Daine's speech was quickly digested. One of the villagers stepped forward.

_He must be one of the important figures here_, Daine said to herself as she viewed the man's colourful garments.

"We prayed for peace, and strived for it, but peace was shattered by those wretched monsters! Those Stormwings have got to go!" His cheeks became flustered, defiance plain on his rough face. It was at this moment that Barzha chose to alight carefully on the high fence surrounding the village.

"Daine, we thank you for your attempt, but it is clear that nothing will be restored from the ashes of this feud-"

"Stormwing!" The man who had previously spoken out pointed an accusing finger at the Immortal queen.

"Sir, please remain-" Daine began, but the man spoke again.

"Shoot!" Before many could react, a hidden archer obeyed the man's word and an arrow came whistling through the air, headed straight for Barzha's chest. Time stopped, and no one did anything. Save for Numair. Inches from the Stormwing, a black, glimmering tendril of magic clutched the arrow from its deadly flight and incinerated it.

Barzha stared just before her for a moment or two, then reason returned to her and she fled the fence.

"You stupid man!" Daine shouted at the one who had given the order to shoot. Meanwhile, Numair had found the hidden archer, located in a small attic in one of the houses nearby, with his magic. He did not move to go to the place, but raised a hand, palm up, and twitched his fingers inwards. A distant gasp was heard.

"You broke terms of peace. You and your man should be executed." Numair said coolly, reminding them all of a law passed by King Jonathan after the war. No friendly, law-abiding Immortals were to be harmed, and to breach this law meant death. Peace was a fragile thing that had to be cared for meticulously.

The villager paled. "We've got a right to protect the village!"

"And the Stone Tree nation has a right to safety, as promised by the King's law." Numair moved his fingers inward again. The door of the house where the hidden archer was banged open. The archer stumbled out, clutching his throat.

"Please…" He choked. Daine's eyes widened.

"Numair!" That cry of dismay broke his concentration, and the archer sunk against the wall to recover. A few of the villagers stepped away.

"We will leave." Alanna said at once. "I regret to see that this village is too blinded with ignorance."

Immediately the Rider scouts, the Lioness and the two mages began to walk back towards the gate.

"What about the Stormwings?" Daine asked the Lioness frantically.

"They will…they will have to find a new home. I'm sorry, but we can't risk anymore of that kind of thing."

Numair stared at the ground as he walked. Shame crept up on him. He hadn't meant to use his magic to try and strangle the archer! He had his reasons. For now he avoided Daine's worried glances.

Hebakh was waiting a distance from the gate, Barzha crouched nervously beside him.

"They tried to shoot her! Why, I ought to-" The Stormwing shouted at them as they approached. The Rider scouts were saddling up. Daine raised a weary hand.

"We're sorry. We didn't know it would happen. We thought those villagers would have the decency to act proper in these circumstances."

"What of our people now?" Barzha said quietly, her face despondent. They'd lost a good home.

"We'll help you find another. You've no choice. Go and bring your subjects. You'll have to follow our party." Numair replied.

"Surely there would be uproar if we neared Corus."

"There's good spreads of forest several miles away from the capital. You can set up home there."

Daine was grateful to Numair for his quick thinking, though his previous behaviour in the village still troubled her.

The Stormwings nodded and took off at once, blowing waves of stench over the humans. They all flinched.

Cloud trotted over to Daine and nipped at her arm, indicating for her to mount. Absently the wildmage obeyed, allowing her weary body to rest awhile on the pony's strong back.

"You look tired. We'll make camp as soon as the light begins to fade." Numair said to her, as he brought his steed alongside her own. Daine deigned to reply, annoyed at her own fatigue. When she started to sway, Numair reached across the gap between them to send a wad of magic into her, to keep her going for the ride.


End file.
